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World’s Student Christian Federation. 
European Student Relief Series No. 9. 


STUDENT LIFE IN 
POLAND TO-DAY. 


The closing of the Universities during the summer months and the 
enlistment of the majority of students, both men and women, in the 
Army, to help in saving Poland from invasion, makes it difficult to give 
accurate information as to the number of students who will be entering 
the Universities when they open again next month—January, 1921. In 
the spring of the year, however, the Colleges were opened, and we 
reckon that the approximate numbers during the winter session will 
be :— 


Warsaw. Approximate 
Name of University. Number of Students. 
University of Warsaw es hae 44026, G00 
Polytechnic 3 oy Pee. 45 COO 
High School of Commerce. =a wi 500 
Agricultural College Be. A: ee OO 
People’s University of Horticulture... ... 1,060 
Electrical Engineering College oo ee 5co0 
School of Pedagogy a Be Br 250 
Conservatory of Music ee: a ia, “Oh iereyre 
School fof PArt “.: we aa ie 600 


Of above students 40% are women and 60% men. 


Krakow. 
University of Krakow ae ve 05-45 500 
Academy of Arts — ae oe 500 
Academy of Mining os as bs 500 
30% women and 70% men. 
Lwow. 
University ae re Pi ep AE OOO 
Polytechnic he a of ae L000 
Lublin. 
University oe. e ot aE 750 
Posen, 
University nas ae of ate. EYAde 
Vilna. 


University 


NJ 
C1 
O 


All the above Colleges, with the exception of Vilna, are expected 
to open in January, and in most cases the number of students will be 
considerably increased, due to demobilisation. Although the conditions 
under which the students lived up to the time the Colleges were closed 
were bad, they will be much worse on re-opening, due both to increased 
numbers, the cold wintry weather, and the material loss and disorganiza- 
tion resulting from the Bolshevik invasion. 


The greatest needs at present are :— 


i. Housing accommodation. 
Food. 
3. Clothing. 


i) 


1. At the present mcment 1,200 students are in Warsaw without a 
place to sleep, and more are expected. 


— 


two months, after which there will be no source from which they can 
obtain food. The Poland Army rations provide half the amount an 
average man requires. For instance, for the last two months Polish 
Army Officers have not tasted flour. At the present time over 2,000 
students are without any place in which to eat or where they can cook 
the scanty rations provided. 


2. Students demobilized from the Army will have Army rations for 


- 3. Clothing of all kinds is impossible to obtain. Students discarding 
their worn-out Army uniforms do not have sufficient funds wherewith 
to purchase civilian clothes. The writer knows personally many students 
who have not taken off their clothes for weeks, but go to bed in them, 
because they possess no under-clothing. If they fe no bed, they sleep 
on the floor; and winter is already here! From the city of Krakow, 
where the conditions are better than elsewhere, a student writes as 
follows :— 
‘One of the most acute needs from which our students suffer 
is for under-wear and socks. One may call it at the present time 


the chronic disease of our academic men.’’ 


The same writer also mentions that it is necessary for students who are 
fortunate enough to obtain rooms in the Students’ Residence in Krakow 
to supply their own pillows, blankets and sheets, but at the present time 
the majority do not possess these things. The most fortunate sometimes 
bring one sheet to cover them during these cold wintry nights. 


The necessities above mentioned, Icdging, food and clothing, are 
essential to life itself, and must be obtained i the students are to exist 
at all, not to speak of having to study. To do the latter, there is at 
present a desperate need also ee Text Books. Fora single Text Book 
a student earning the maximum amount a student can earn by working 
in his spare time, has to use an entire month’s salary. There is an 
urgent need also for the latest books in English and other foreign lan- 
guages on scientific and other subjects, and also for the best scientific 
journals. It should be borne in mind that the Polish students are making 
a desperate effort to help themselves. The greater majority of them, 
both men and women, work on an average five hours a day, many even 
working for eight hours a day, in order to earn enough to enable them 
to study. They can be seen studying in the corner of crowded railroad 
stations, putting up with the noise in order to keep warm. Those who 


are able to get sleeping quarters, sleep generally from four to five in a 
small room. Student Unions have been organized by the students them- 
selves, the chief one being the Bratnia Pomoc. The chief aims of these 
Unions are to help poor students with money grants and to provide, 
where possible, cheap kitchens and hostels. Yet general conditions are 
such that the best they can do scarcely touches the surface of the need. 
For instance, in Warsaw at the present time four hundred places are 
available in which to sleep 1,500 students, and they have a kitchen where 
they can feed 600 students out of 3,000. 


It is one of the most hopeful signs of these days that, notwithstand- 
ing the terrible conditions under w hich they are living, these young men 
and women should be so determined to pursue their studies. To help 
these students is to help one’s own nation. A stable Poland will count 
much in stabilizing the whole of Europe, of which it is the geographical 
centre. All that the youth of the. land ask is the opportunity to help 
themselves. They have a country rich in national resources, and they are 
a people rich in energy and resourcefulness. Their land is in desperate 
need of more doctors and engineers. The bad conditions, such as 
typhus epidemic, from which Poland is now suffering, are largely due to 
the ignorance of the peasant classes. At the beginning of last vear eighty 
Derecent,, of the Army were illiterates. Sc hools were organized and run 
during the whole of the fighting period, as a result of which at the end 
of the winter there was not a soldier W ho could not read and write. So 
keen were they to make use of every moment that the writer has seen 
soldiers in the middle of the winter, when the snow was lying two feet 
on the ground, studying in the front- line trenches and dug-outs. Such 
is their desire to learn, but they cannot do so unless they have teachers, 
and there cannot be teachers unless the present students are given the 
opportunity of continuing their studies. 


We are glad to report that the work of the Federation Relief 
Scheme is now launched in Poland. Feeding and clothing schemes 
are on foot, and an empty barracks has been opened for homeless 
students. The American Y.M.C.A. in Poland has kindly agreed 
to administer the funds we have sent for these purposes. The 
American Y.M.C.A. carried on a considerable relief. work for 
soldier students last academic year, and has accumulated experi- 
ence in this line. The above statement of conditions is written by 
their General Secretary, Mr. Arthur Stewart Taylor. 


All money raised by National Committees for relief purposes 
should be sent to our Treasurer, M. Louis HEss, 13, Avenue de 
Champel, Geneva, Switzerland. 


December, 1920. 


WORLD’S STUDENT CHRISTIAN FEDERATION 
EUROPEAN STUDENT RELIEF. 


JORNe &,. MOTT: CONRAD HOFFMANN, RUDE ROUSE: 
Chairman, Executive Secretary, Publicity Secretary, 
317. Madison Avenue, 13. Avenue de Champel, 28, Lancaster Road, 


New York City. Geneva, Switzerland. Wimbledon, London, S.W. 19. 





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